Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Senator is correct. He and I entered the Houses on the same day.

In my experience, on any occasion when a housing grant or other change was introduced, developers took the money and then increased the purchase price accordingly. Purchasers and those in the wider community did not, therefore, enjoy the benefit of the grants made available. I hazard a guess that developers would discount the figure of 5% under discussion when making decisions on the amount to be charged for houses or apartments. They will discount the 5% and state that is for a later day. In other words, the purchaser will pay 105% for a house where he or she should pay only 100%. I agree that we need to square the circle on how we can ensure that estates are finally dealt with. This is not only true for this Bill but it may also be a matter for planning and development legislation.

To answer Senator O'Toole's question on other mechanisms, the one real solution we believe we have come up with is contained in paragraph () in amendment No. 63 which has to do with dispute resolution mandated by the court and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms whereby the home or unit owners and the developer can go to court or mediation and dispute resolution to solve a number of these issues.